Detective gives cold-case perspective on Resurrection

2013-03-21 11:49:20

J. Warner Wallace is a cold-case detective in Southern California and a faculty member at Stand to Reason. Although he was an atheist until the age of 35, he eventually became a Christian after studying the evidence of the New Testament gospel accounts.

At 7 p.m. Friday at Calvary Community Church in Brea, he will examine the resurrection of Jesus from the perspective of a cold-case detective.

Wallace attended seminary and earned a master's degree in theological studies as he began to write about what he learned.

His new book, "Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels," provides readers with a template to help them examine the evidence, including the Resurrection.

Wallace describes cold-case homicides as events from the distant past for which there often are no living eyewitnesses and little, if any, direct or forensic evidence to make the case. Detectives learn how to evaluate and employ circumstantial evidence to demonstrate what happened at the scene of the crime.

In his book, Wallace provides readers with 10 principles of cold-case investigations in an effort to equip readers to use these concepts as they consider the claims of the New Testament gospel authors. He believes these simple principles will provide new insight into the historic evidence for Christianity.

His talk at Calvary Community Church will help people understand the importance of investigative presuppositions, the role of abductive reasoning and the power and nature of circumstantial evidence as he examines the claims of the Bible related to the resurrection of Jesus.

Wallace says most Christians begin their spiritual journey with a decision: They decide to accept what the Bible teaches about Jesus and to trust Jesus for their salvation. But, according to Wallace, the Christian life is much more than that. Wallace wants people to be equipped to make a second decision – a decision to engage their culture as good Christian case-makers.